Fairies in the Wild
by Moose's Archangel
Summary: The kitty-pet Lulu has always dreamt of starry cats and keys for as long as she can remember, all she wants to is join the Fairy Tail clan, so when the opportunity arrives, she leaps at the chance. The cats of the clans have more magic and power than she could ever dream of, and can they help her find out what her dreams mean before they overwhelm her? (Warriors AU)
1. Allegiances

**I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL OR WARRIORS! It's purely the geniusness of Hiro and Erin Hunter!**

**FAIRIES IN THE WILD**

**ALLEGIANCES**

**FAIRY TAIL**

**Leader:** Smallstar (Makarov)  
_Apprentice, Flamepaw (Natsu)_

**Deputy:** Chainsoul (Precht/Hades)

**Medicine Cat:** Demonsoul (Mira)

**Warriors:** Armourheart (Erza)  
_Apprentice, Icepaw (Gray)_

Crashtail (Gildarts)  
_Apprentice, Lionpaw (Loki)_

Scriptstorm (Freed)

Speedfur (Jet)  
_Apprentice, Bookpaw (Levy)_

Lightningclaw (Laxus)  
_Apprentice, Celestialpaw (Lucy)_

Bulletfire (Alzack)

Gunfur (Bisca)

Maskeye (Mystogan)

Winesoul (Cana)

Souleyes (Bickslow)

Evergreen (Evergreen)

Beastsoul (Elfman)

Plantfur (Droy)

Purpleflare (Macao)

Smokeheart (Wakaba)

**Apprentices:** Icepaw (Gray)

Lionpaw (Loki)

Celestialpaw (Lucy)

Flamepaw (Natsu)

Bookpaw (Levy)

**Queens/Kits: **Purplekit (Romeo)

**PHANTOM LORD**

**Leader:** Phantomstar (Jose)

**Deputy:** Blacksteel (Gajeel)

**Medicine Cat:** Mirrorpelt (Sue)

**Warriors:** Watersoul (Juvia)

Earthsoul (Sol)

Firesoul (Totomaru)

Windsoul (Aria)

Soundclaw (Boze)

**LAMIA SCALE**

**Leader:** Saintstar (Jura)

**Deputy:** Pinkheart (Sherry)

**Medicine Cat:** Spinsoul (Ooba, and yes I'm well aware she's the master)  
_Apprentice, Windpaw (Chelia)_

**Warriors:** Iceclaw (Lyon)

Bluebrows (Yuka)

Stingingclaw (Toby)

**Apprentices:** Windpaw (Chelia)

**BLUE PEGASUS**

**Leader:** Bristlestar (Bob)

**Deputy:** Gingernose (Ichiya)

**Medicine Cat:** Flowerheart (Jenny)

**Warriors:** Goldentri (Hibiki)  
_Apprentice, Snowpaw (Eve)_

Blacktri (Ren)

Greenspirit (Karen)

**Apprentices:** Snowpaw (Eve)

**CATS OUTSIDE CLANS**

Spetto (Spetto)

Potionfang (Porlyusia)


	2. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Warriors belongs to Erin, Fairy Tail (all the characters) belong to Hiro but I just gave them their warrior cat names and one to me (that would of course be Raven)**

**FAIRIES IN THE WILD**

**PROLOGUE**

A half-moon was the only light given to the forest, turning the leaves on the trees silver. The only thing to make a noise was the soft roar of an engine as it raced across the tarmac.

There were shadows, flickering about the trees and bright slitted eyes shone wearily through gaps in the undergrowth either side of the road, unsheathed claws glinted in the moonlight.

As if from a silent signal, creatures from the pine wood leaped across the hard tarmac, the sound of claws making contact with the surface was enough to send anyone running, but the creatures in the oak forest stood their ground, as they reached the other side, they let out screeching yowls and met them head on.

At the grassy verge, at the centre of the whirl of fur and claws, a huge dusky yellow cat with darker strips running down his back and an lightning shaped scar over his right eye had pinned down a bulky, dark grey and black tom-cat, and had raised his head with his lips drawn back in a snarl. "Blacksteel!" the dusky yellow cat growled. "How dare you cross our borders!"

"After tonight, Lightningclaw, this will just be another part of Phantom Lord's territory," the black tom hissed a laugh.

The roaring of a monster grew steadily closer and Lightningclaw's head shot up, a grim look of determination passed over the cats features, and Blacksteel seemed to know what was coming. Lightningclaw pressed his paw down on other male's neck, forcing his head to tip back till the tips of his ears where touching the Thunderpath. Blacksteel thrashed underneath him, but the sheer weight of golden tom alone was enough to keep the black and grey cat down.

"You may live in the darkness, but these forests are for the cats that live in the light!" Lightningclaw snapped his sharp teeth together, as the rival tom withered under him, the monster was rapidly approaching with every passing second.

A sudden scream rose up through the throng of whirling cats. A deep brown she-cat was struggling under a Phantom tom. The tom made a snap at her neck but she was just keeping him from reaching her.

Lightningclaw lashed his tail and leaped away from Blacksteel, towards the tom, successfully knocking him away from his clan mate.

"Winesoul, get your arse moving!" he ordered, whipping around to face the tom that had attacked her. Winesoul jumped to her paws rather unsteadily and shot away from them, a deep gash in her shoulder.

The Phantom Lord tom made a swipe at him, claws reflecting the moon light, but Lightningclaw ducked away spitting in rage.

"Big mistake," he growled before springing forwards, his teeth sinking into his opponent's shoulder without mercy.

The cat yowled in pain and struggled with all his might, but Lightningclaw was relentless, raking his sharp claws along the length of the Sabertooth tom's side and shaking his head much like the Phantom Lord cat was no more than mere pray.

"Lightningclaw," a recognisable call sounded above the screeches of battle, Lightningclaw released the tom unwillingly and watched as he slunk away, before turning to face a grey tom with one eye scarred horribly. "It is stupidity to continue fighting! We have too little numbers."

"No Chainsoul, Fairy Tail will never be beaten, we must not show weakness," Lightningclaw yowled in anger, as he leaped up to Chainsoul's side.

"Fairy Tail honours your loyalty, but we cannot afford to keep this attack up," Chainsoul spat back. "Smallstar will never expect his warriors to fight like this. We will avenge this defeat, I'll make sure of it," Chainsoul growled, before jumping up onto a fallen tree.

"Retreat Fairy Tail!" he howled into the night sky, heard well above the ruckus of fighting cats.

The Fairy Tail cats backed away with disbelief at the easy defeat, but they continued to spit and lash out towards the Phantom Lord cats.

The Phantom cats looked extravagant and Blacksteel let out an ear splitting cry of victory. The rest of the clan wasted no time in joining in with his victorious caterwauls.

Chainsoul glared at the Phantom cats, before flicking his tail and vanishing into the trees without looking at his warriors. The Fairy Tail cats followed soundlessly.

Lightningclaw went last, making sure all his warriors where safely through into the trees before leaping after them.

**~^.^~**

In an empty clearing, an old pale yellow tom, that was slowly greying, sat alone watching the stars in the sky. Around him, in the dark shadows, the soft snores and movements told him his cats were sleeping soundly.

A beautiful white she-cat pushed her way through some ferns at the edge of the clearing and slowly made her way towards him, leaping up onto the large rock that he sat on.

He turned towards her and nodded in greeting. "How is Winesoul?" he asked.

"Most of her wounds where small, the one on her shoulder is the only one to cause any worry, but it is nothing she will not recover from," she replied, as she sat beside him, her shadow seemed to swallow the smaller cat.

"And the others?" he asked, greatly concerned for his cats.

"They are all fine, Fairy Tail warriors are tough."

Smallstar looked aggravated as he shifted next to the she-cat. "We are lucky none of our warriors died, you are gifted, not only in your beauty but as a medicine cat as well Demonsoul," she meowed a soft laugh at his way of complementing her, and watched as Smallstar lifted his head once again towards the stars.

"I am worried about tonight's defeat, Phantom Lord will see our retreat as weakness and won't hesitate to attack again… Fairy Tail is in of strong warriors if we are going to be ready to fight back."

"Do you doubt our strength?" she asked him in surprise. "We have some of the strongest warriors in the forest, not to mention we _are_ the strongest clan."

The small cat flicked his tail. "Yes, but… the other clans are catching up. If Fairy Tail is to defend its territory we need warriors ready for battle as soon as possible."

"Are you asking Mavis for answers?" Demonsoul asked, tipping her head back so she could gaze at the stars in wonder.

"Mavis has been silent for some time…" he replied warily. Demonsoul was about to agree with him, but a sudden flash across the band of stars caught her eye. Her tail lashed and the fur along her spine bristled.

Smallstar watched intently, waiting for her to retrieve her visions. His small ears twitched impatiently as he waited.

After what seemed like forever, Demonsoul finally turned to face him, her eyes tired yet filled with wonder. "Mavis sent me a message… a cat that shines as bright and as brilliantly as the stars themselves… one that has to power to wield them to their command, will join us and show us the way."

"Stars? But… what does that even mean…?" Smallstar shook his head and looked up at the stars again. "You're sure?" he demanded.

Demonsoul looked slightly taken aback by his sharp tone, but replied none the less. "Yes, this is what Mavis has shown me."

"Demonsoul… you have never wronged us before… if this is what Mavis has told you then… Then a cat as bright as stars, will come to us."

**~^.^~**

**I suck at prophecies.**


	3. Chapter 1

**FAIRIES IN THE WILD**

**CHAPTER 1**

A small she-cat sat curled up in her lumpy cat basket. Her chin resting against the rim of it, small chain rubbing her fur the wrong way, as she watched her human fill her food dish with tasteless dry pellets.

She'd had that dream again, sitting out in the forest in a moon washed clearing, staring up at the stars. Then they had moved, swirling around her until the star's formed cats surrounding her. They spoke words to her, but she had never been able to make any of them out.

Then that would be the end, she would wake up in the stuffy kitchen cramped in her uncomfortable bed with a thin chain around her neck.

The chain was silver and very light, and a small golden key hung down from it. Another thing she had noticed, was she was free of the chain, yet the golden key that was latched to it was by her paws.

Lulu climbed out of her cat basket and trotted over towards her newly filled dish. Her belly growled at the thought of food, but just thinking about having to swallow another mouthful was dissatisfying. Instead, Lulu padded towards the backdoor and slipped through the cat flap. It snapped shut behind her, barely missing her tail. She hated the confinements of the big house she lived in, so much preferring to be outside.

The moon shone brightly outside, much like it had done in her dreams, though, it did not have the same effect on her garden as it did in the clearing.

She sniffed around, but nothing interesting caught her sense, so she turned her attention towards the tall dark wooden fence that lined the perimeter of her garden.

She headed towards that, and once close enough, haled herself up it till she was at the top, sitting on the thin bit of wood.

There was a small stretch of long grass between the fences that lined the gardens, until the trees that boarded the forest.

Somewhere out there; was the place from her dreams.

She wanted to find it. To see if the stars would fall to her. But she was too nervous to do so.

So instead, she tipped her head back at stared at the stars in the dark blue night sky. They glistened like tiny drops of rain caught on a spiders web. She loved to spend hours, just gazing up at the stars, sitting still and wouldn't move until her owners called her to come in, she felt so _free_ when she was able to just bask in the sight of the stars, it was an indescribable feeling but it made her feel… unbounded to her owners, to the house, to be free.

Something suddenly caught her attention, drawing it away from the dazzling stars, towards the forest. There was something out there, something watching her.

A burst of sudden spirit coursed through her small body, willing her to jump down and find what it was. To find the place from her dreams.

She tensed her muscles, crouching preparing to spring down.

"Lulu, where do you think you're going!" a shrill call sounded, it caught her by surprise and she fell forwards from the fence. She landed in an ungraceful heap, the key on her collar swinging around madly.

Lulu jumped to her paws and turned, looking for who had caused her to fall from her perch.

It was Spetto, an elderly dark purple cat who lived next door to her, she was standing unsteadily on the fence, looking down at her with wide worried extremely dark blue eyes.

Spetto acted like a mother towards Lulu, always threating and worrying about her safety and lecturing her. But was also her only friend.

"I was going to go and explore," Lulu replied, sitting down in the grass that separated the fences from the forest and curling her tail over her small paws.

"Don't even think about it, get back up here, its dangerous out there," Spetto snapped, her eyes darting about anxiously, as if waiting for an attack at any moment.

"I'll be fine, I won't stay out long, there's just something I need to check out," Lulu argued gently, trying to get the old cat to see reason.

"Deary, there's nothing out there that a kitten like you needs to 'check out'," Spetto, flicked her tail, gesturing her to join her back on the fence. However, Lulu made no move to go back.

"No, Spetto, I really need to do this… I don't know what it is, but it's like something's drawing me towards it," Lulu tried miserably to explain to the old cat, but she couldn't quite explain why it was she needed to go.

Spetto looked doubtful for a few moments before sighing, twitching her ear and tipping her head to one side.

"There never was any point in arguing with you, please stay safe Lu," Spetto purred, yet narrowed her eyes in worry for her closet friend.

"I won't, I'll see you soon Spetto!" Lulu called, before turning tail and trotting happily toward the thick trees that bordered the forest, Spetto watched until she had disappeared from sight before jumping back down into her on garden while shaking her head.

Lulu had only taken a few strides into the forest, before something red and bushy caught her brown eyes.

The rancid smell of rotten meat hit her sensitive nose and she stumbled back. It ate meat that's for sure, Lulu felt worry shoot through her, making the fur along her spine and tail rise, what if it ate her?

It wasn't a cat or dog, that's for sure, Lulu had never seen anything quite like this, and she wanted to stay away from it. Slowly, she backed away, keeping her eyes on the red fur, then suddenly it was whisked away. She lost sight of it, and began to panic, what if it tried to sneak up behind her?

She heard a sound behind her and spun around, there it was, it was going to get her. The rustling got louder and closer, it didn't take her long to realise if she stayed there any longer she'd die.

The creature came at her like a bomb and Lulu was thrown backwards into brambles, the attacker gripped to her back, she felt a searing heat burning her where there was pressure on her back, and for a moment she could have sworn she could smell smoke. She wiggled this way and that but the claws digging into her only seemed to sink deeper. She forced her mind to slow, and the first thing that came into her head was incredibly stupid, yet the only thing she thought would work.

She fell back, onto her back, though she was only small and light, it had taken the creature by surprise. The claws in her fur loosened their grip, and she managed to spring free.

She didn't even bother to look back, to see what had attacked her. All instincts told her to run. Yet the fast beat of heavy paw steps warned her that her attacker was chasing her.

Lulu quickly realised if she kept going, she'd lead the creature right to her best friend, Spetto, this creature would easily be able to kill the old she-cat.

She had no choice, out of pure stupidity, she stopped dead and spun around, to face her attacker head on.

Her attacker was another kitten. A very odd looking one at that. He had a salmon pink pelt, with fiery red and orange markings licking their way up each leg like flames, the same pattern on his ear tips and half way up his tail. Black eyes narrowed, as he charged on, but widened in surprise as he saw she had stopped, he quickly recovered his shock and rammed into her.

Lulu gaped at the impact and bunched her muscles, ready to do the next most stupidest thing in her short life, attack back.

However, before she could do so, the tom sat down and began to lick his paw like nothing had happened. She saw extremely sharp claws, still unsheathed from their quick scuffle.

Now he had calmed down, she saw that he did indeed have black eyes, it had not been her imagination, and he also had some sort of object around his neck, something she had never seen before.

She continued to stand there, stiff and tail lashing with nerves. The tom seemed to have finally noticed this, as he stopped mid lick and looked at her.

"Sup kitty!" he meowed, way too excitedly to the cat he had just been attacking like he was going to kill her. "You're quite good, for a female house cat" he returned to grooming his oddly pigmented fur.

"You could have killed me!" Lulu cried suddenly, angry at the fact he could go from begin so aggressive to so friendly.

"Yeah, could have," he retorted. "But I didn't, now if you had been Icepaw then I would have!" he lashed his tail as he mentioned, what Lulu thought to be someone, however she didn't understand why anyone would be called such a stupid name.

"I'm Flamepaw, what's your name?" he added thoughtfully.

She stared at Flamepaw, _'what odd names these cats have'_ she thought, still glaring at the offending pink tom.

"Lulu," she replied tensely.

"Nice to meet you Luigi! I'm training to be a Fairy Tail warrior, how cool is that? Fairy Tail's the best clan there is, the others are stupid and dull and weak. We're strong, and can defeat anyone in a fight 'cause we're the best clan!" he rambled on. Lulu remained silent, staring at him with interest, deciding to ignore the name he'd called her.

She'd heard of the clans before, there were four main ones out there, but there where other's, she she'd often wondered what it would be like to join one when gazing at the stars. But she'd never been brave enough to enter the forest until now.

Now that she thought about it, she should have guessed that this cat would have been part of one of the clans. She heard that they were great fighters, strong, huge, sharp teeth and claws. This kitten had certainly proved they were strong and had sharp claws.

"What where you doing out here anyway, it's dangerous, if you'd come across a Phantom they would have ripped you to shreds, ate you then asked questions," he said that, way too seriously. Lulu gently licked her chest fur before replying.

"I wanted to explore… and besides, if you're the only thing prowling about at night, then I think I can survive," Lulu pointed out.

Flamepaw purred in amusement. "You're not all that bad Lu."

Lulu ruffled up her fur and hissed lightly. "I suppose you're not half bad," she grudgingly agreed.

"You should come join the clan! It's so amazing, being free, not having to live by any rules to be your own cat, fresh kill not slop or rabbit droppings, the fresh wind in your whiskers…" Flamepaw trailed off, getting lost in his own words.

Lulu stiffened, she had always imagined it, always wondered what it would be like… but to leave her home… "I don't know…"

Before Flamepaw could reply, he stiffened, raising his head to sniff the air. "Quick, go! I smell cats from my clan!" he hissed, shoving against her.

But she reacted too late, before she could do as instructed, a firm yet warm voice called out behind them. Lulu turned to see a cat, no bigger than her, strolling towards them from the bushes. He was a dusky gold, nothing like the bold colour she was, and clearly aging with grey flecks in his coat.

"Smallstar!" Flamepaw greeted, tipping his head to the side, staring at him wide eyed. "But what are you-" his words where cut of as a second cat followed. She was brilliant scarlet red and had pricing brown eyes, she was clearly angry at the tom beside Lulu.

Flamepaw cried out and ducked behind Lulu the moment he spotted her, "Armourheart! Lu save me," he crouched down low to the ground, shaking violently.

Lulu was dumbstruck, she had no clue what to think at that moment.

"Flamepaw, you shouldn't be here, I should fail your assignment right now," Armourheart snapped, lashing her tail as her eyes narrowed at the cowering tom.

"Armourheart, calm down, Flamepaw, what reason do you have to be here?" Smallstar flicked his tail in front of the red pelted she-cat to tell her to step down.

"Funny story, I was hunting this mouse, then I smelt this little kitty here, so I followed the sent, attacked, chased and then we chatted a bit," Flamepaw purred nervously as he finished explaining.

_Little kitty? _what sort of game was this cat playing at? Lulu bristled, but held back.

"Yes, who might you be?" Smallstar turned his dark green eyes on Lulu. Even though this cat was so small, she still felt afraid of him, sensing he was a lot more powerful than he looked.

"Lulu, I was exploring until this lump jumped me," Lulu retorted. Flamepaw squeaked behind her, and Lulu didn't understand why, until Armourheart stepped forwards.

"How dare you speak to our leader like that!" she hissed.

"Armourheart, back away," Smallstar sighed. "Lulu, I'm sorry for the trouble Flamepaw caused you. Yet I did happen to observe the way you reacted. You did well for someone with no training what so ever. You crushed him, even though he is bigger and stronger than you, and even when he chased you, you stood your ground," Smallstar looked thoughtful as he praised her.

Lulu's eyes widened at his words, and she couldn't help but feel some sort of pride. Flamepaw tapped her back leg and when she turned to look down at the still shaking tom, he was smirking at her as if to say _'you're welcome'._

"Flamepaw, though attacking unnecessarily, you did well," he had turned his gaze on the crouched tom and nodded at him.

"Flamepaw, for Mavis' sake stop being such a cowered, get up, you're making Fairy Tail look bad, hiding behind a kitty pet," Armourheart sighed as she glared at the pink tom.

"Aye," he mumbled, before slinking back beside Lulu and raising into a sitting position_. 'Just what had this cat so scared of her?'_ Lulu wondered, intrigued by Flamepaw's behaviour.

"I often see you sitting on your fence, gazing at the stars, looking into our forest with such wonder in your eyes. I see you could no longer hold off your curiosity," Smallstar spoke with something unnameable in his eyes as he stared intently at Lulu.

"Smallstar, send her home, the forest is no place for a soft she-cat such as her," Armourheart demanded, her eyes flickered from Smallstar, to Lulu, then to Flamepaw then back again.

"What?" Lulu looked slightly taken aback by the she-cats harsh words. Sure, she may not live wild like these cats do, that there was no need to be so rude about it.

"Armourheart is right Lulu, these forests are no place for a kitty pet like yourself, you're lucky its Flamepaw you ran into and not one of our other… less understanding, warriors," Smallstar had a look of shame in his eyes when he spoke of his warriors not being so understanding.

"But-" Lulu was cut off before she could utter even her second word.

"However, you show much potential, and although I can make no guaranty, you could turn into a fine warrior… would you like to join Fairy Tail?"


	4. Chapter 2

**FAIRIES IN THE WILD**

**CHAPTER TWO**

"Uh," Lulu stared in shock; she defiantly hadn't expected _that_ kind of offer.

"Yes, let's go Lu," Flamepaw cried, grabbing her scruff between his sharp teeth and giving her a yank into the tree line, she made a yowling noise in protest and dug her claws into the soft ground.

"Flamepaw," Armourheart snapped, "She hasn't even said yes yet."

Flamepaw looked expectantly at Lulu, who was looking very conflicted. After a very long and painful minute, Lulu's eyes flickered over to her fence, before returning to Flamepaw's onyx irises, "I… Can I really?"

"Of course," Smallstar purred, flicking his tail, Flamepaw bristled with excitement and pressed up against Lulu.

"Let's go!" he called.

**~^x^~**

It took longer than usual for the warriors to arrive back to camp, as Lulu wasn't used to the journey and had never in her life had to go so far in one time. At one point she had to stop to catch her breath, Armourheart and Smallstar had gone on ahead, only Flamepaw had noticed her pause, he too stopped, and waited patiently beside her while she recovered. He also had to help her get over a particularly big tree that had fallen, he jumped up first and when she was struggling to pull herself up, he gripped onto her scruff again and pulled her up.

But the two cats finally made it to camp; Flamepaw led the way, with the young golden cat on his heels. Thorns snagged at her fur, but nothing could stop her determination so she ignored the thorns pricking at her and at last she burst into the camp.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Flamepaw greeted her, brushing his shoulder against hers, she saw Smallstar slip into a cave that was carved into a rock, followed by the harsh red pelted she-cat, Armourheart.

There were so many cats milling around, talking in groups and grooming each other, she saw others entering and exciting what seemed to be dens, and to the far side of the camp near the rock Smallstar had disappeared into was a small tunnel of ferns leading into a secluded part of the camp.

"Follow me, I'll show you around," Flamepaw gestured for her to follow, to which she complied because she didn't know what else to do. He took her over to the large rock where Smallstar had entered, "This is the leaders den, in other words, Smallstar's den, and up there is where he announces meetings," he tipped his head back, nose pointing to the top of the rock.

"It's a long way up," Lulu noted, feeling slightly queasy just by looking up.

"Yeah, but it's really not, it's just because you're so small," he laughed, flicking her with his tail to show he was only joking when she scowled. "Here is the medicine cat's den, it's where the med cat sleeps, or if they're treating someone who's ill or injured they stay there too, Demonsoul is the current medicine cat, but we shouldn't be poking our noses around here otherwise we'll lose our pelts," he shuddered in thought and pushed her onward.

"This is the warrior den," he pointed towards a large den, "If you're quick, you can stick your head in for a nose about," she nodded, and gently prodded the entrance, before peeking inside, it was full of mossy piles all over the floor, "Moss and feathers makes the best kind of bedding, soft and comfortable, senior warriors sleep nearer the middle where it's warmest, next to this is the nursery, but there's only one kit sleeping in there, Purplekit, his father's Purpleflare, but no one knows who his mother is, one day he just turned up with this tiny little bundle in his mouth, saying it's his, but he never told anyone who was the mother… poor thing, I like him, he has a great attitude, you'll get to meet him later but right now he's asleep so it's best not to disturb him otherwise the she-cats will claw at us," he purred and then backed back into the clearing of the camp.

"Over there is the elders den, but there are no elders, there haven't been any for moons, the cats here just don't get old like they used to, they're really healthy cats, I once slept in the elders den, it was really warm and comfortable, and I bossed about Icepaw and Bookpaw all day," he purred a soft laugh while Lulu looked confused about the two named cats who she had no clue on who they were.

"That's the fresh kill pile, it's pretty good lately because all the mice and other prey come out because it's warm, and they're easer to hunt," he noted towards a pile of dead animals as they passed, she flicked her ear in understanding.

"And here, is where the apprentices sleep, also, where you'll be sleeping, you can have the nest next to mine as no one has taken it yet," he ducked into the den, and Lulu followed, it was similar to the warriors den but smaller, as where the piles of moss. "We can go out later and get some feathers to put in your nest to make it better, this one's mine," he padded over to a pile that was no longer a pile. The moss was spread about, and there were all sorts of things from the forest pressed into his moss.

"All Fairies old enough to fly without wings, join here beneath the high rock for a clan meeting," Lulu heard a sharp yowl come from outside, Flamepaw's ears pricked with interest.

"That's Smallstar, this must be your meeting about joining," Flamepaw brushed past her and scurried out of the den, Lulu quickly scooted out after him, she noticed that the clearing had filled with cats, ranging from different colours and sizes, pelt length and scars, she saw that most where staring at her with interest, but she ducked her head and ignored them, hurrying towards Flamepaw and sitting beside him, so close that their pelts brushed together.

Smallstar was sat on the high rock; Armourheart was beside him, along with a brownish gingery coloured tom that stood tall above Smallstar and bulker than Armourheart. He had long, thick scars across his chest and nicks in his ears, along with little scratches on his face and the fur on his right front and back leg was mangled and ripped away, looking as if it would never grow back, but he still looked fairly amused none the less.

"That's Crashtail," Flamepaw informed her, his voice low in her ear, he had seen her looking at the tom next to the clan's leader.

"As most of you will have seen, there is a new cat among us, Lulu, please step forwards," Smallstar nodded down at the small she-cat next to Flamepaw. She swallowed nervously, and with a gentle, encouraging shoulder-shove from the tom beside her, she stepped into the cleared space right in front of the high rock.

"She wishes to join Fairy Tail. Lulu, do you agree to live by the warrior code for the rest of your life, to live for your clan and never return to your life as a kitty pet," she nodded vigorously, her silver key tapping against her soft fur, "Then from here on out you shall be known as Celestialpaw, you're mentor will be chosen later tonight as he is not present right now," Smallstar jumped down, landing lightly on his front paws and padding up to the newly named Celestialpaw.

"Flamepaw, you are to stay with her until the patrol returns," he swung his head around back to Celestialpaw, and gently pressed his nose to her forehead, before flicking his tail in dismissal and padding away. The moment he was gone, she was swarmed by cats, all yowling her name and brushing up against her in welcome. She had never felt so loved.

After being greeted by everyone present, Flamepaw was at her side, a low purr rumbling through his chest and he looked very satisfied. "Happy now?" she bumped against him.

"Yes, but before we go anywhere, I want to discuss something," he led her over to a tree stump and sat down, Celestialpaw sat beside him, looking expectantly at him.

"What is it Flamepaw?" she asked, wrapping her tail over her small paws and hunching down to keep herself warm.

"Do you want to be my partner?" he asked onyx eyes boring into hers.

"What?" she looked at him in confusion.

"Partners, who you go on patrols with, and hunt with, sorry, it's a bit early after all, once you form a partnership with someone you have to stick to it, can't abandon it. You see them over there?" he nodded towards a group of three, "That's Souleyes, Evergreen and Scriptstorm; they're partners, along with another who was chosen for a patrol by Smallstar. There are Speedfur and Plantfur, also Purpleflare and Smokeheart, that's just the ones here," he explained to her.

"Sure," her eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of having a partner after not even five minutes within the clan.

"I understand if you don't want to but- Wait, did you say _yes_?" he frowned, whiskers twitching with uncertainty.

"Yep," she laughed, but it was cut short when a cold chill made her shiver and another cat sat beside her. She turned to him, he had a light blue pelt with dark blue, that was almost black, chest fur, and all four of his legs and tail where the same solid dark blue colour. He, like Flamepaw, had something around his neck; it looked to be a thin reed tied neatly and a sword like shape hung from it, although it was almost hidden by the fur on his chest.

"You really want to think before agreeing to partner up with this freak," he spoke, eyeing up the pink furred cat with distaste. "I'm pretty sure you want to wait until you've been here at least a day or even until you're a warrior, it's a big thing you know, and by the way, I'm Icepaw" he nodded shortly.

"Do you have a partnership?" Celestialpaw asked, tipping her head to the side in question, the key hanging from the chain around her neck swinging away from her chest and waving in the air.

"No, I was thinking of making one with Lionpaw, but I want to wait," he noticed the key around her neck and looked back up at her, "Come with me, I'll sort that out for you," he flicked his tail, gesturing for her to follow him towards the wall of the camp, long stalks of grass that looked like reeds where poking up and waving lazily in the breeze. "You'll want one that's not heavy, but strong enough to hold your key," he told her, and sat back on his hunches, picking through the grass with sharp claws.

"Like this," she plucked a longish piece with her claw, and dropping it in front of Icepaw, he eyed it before letting out a grunt of acceptance. "Face the other way," he told her, she didn't bother questioning it, just complied, turning and looking around the camp while she waited. She felt a claw run through her fur, before it clipped the chain, cutting right through it, she gasped as it dropped in front of her. "Pass me the key," he stated. Celestialpaw placed her paw over the small key and slid it behind her.

Somehow, Icepaw managed to thread the grass through the key, and managed to tie it around her neck, she didn't bother to question how on earth he did it, but somehow he did. The grass around her neck felt much better than the chain, it didn't rub and it wasn't cold or heavy.

"Thank you Icepaw," she bowed her head in appreciation.

"Don't mention it, everyone here has something, like Flamepaw has that white muffler thing, by the way," he leaned in closer, till his nose was just brushing her sensitive ear, "What's your magic?"

"What do you mean, 'what's my magic'?" she flicked her ear, looking at him as if he was crazy.

"Don't worry about it, you'll find out in due time," he looked pointedly at Flamepaw, "I think the fire freak is missing you," he smirked, "I'll let you get back to him, and take what I told you seriously, about the partnership, think about it before really agreeing to one, go on patrols and train together by all means, but don't feel like you have to rush into things."

"Ok, I won't do anything to irrationally, see you around…" she awkwardly shrugged and padded back to Flamepaw, who jumped up as she returned to him.

"What did he want?" he hissed, clearly angry about the fact she had been talking to the blue furred tom.

"Nothing," she sat back down, ignoring the noises he was making and scanned the clearing, her eyes landed on a white she-cat that had just emerged from the fern tunnel. "Oh… wow… she's beautiful," she murmured, finding herself staring at the she-cat, she was pure white with thick fur that feathered down the back of her legs and giving her a bushy yet sleek tail, her eyes where a bright, crystal blue colour, filled with knowing and wonder.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that's Demonsoul, the medicine cat, she's pretty isn't she?" he calmed down from his rant and lay down beside her. "That's her brother over there," he gestured to a bulking cat, the same white pelt as his sister, but his was short and scruffy, "He's Beastsoul, the middle of the siblings, Demonsoul is the oldest," he informed her.

"So where's the youngest?" Celestialpaw finally tore her gaze away from Demonsoul and back to Flamepaw, but she was taken aback by the dark look that shadowed his face.

"She's with Mavis now, I'll speak to you later Cel," he got to his paws and disappeared into the apprentices den, his step was heavy and immediately she felt guilty. Celestialpaw got to her paws and looked around for Icepaw, it didn't take her long to spot him, he was chatting with two other cats, one was a ginger colour, with shaggy fur, and the other was a light blue, she was tiny compared to the two toms she was with, shaking herself, Celestialpaw put on a brave front and padded over to them, and plopped herself down next to Icepaw.

"Hey there," the small she-cat stated excitedly, "I'm Bookpaw."

"I'm Lion-" the ginger tom paused, his eyes wide as he caught sight of the key hanging around her neck, "Oh, hehe, look at the sun! Time to check the elder's for ticks!" he stuttered out before launching himself across the camp and scurrying into the elders den.

"Did I do something wrong? And Flamepaw said you didn't have any elders here," Celestialpaw asked, looking at the other two apprentices, who looked as confused as she felt.

"No you didn't and no we don't, that was Lionpaw by the way, he's a bit of a nutter, don't worry about it," Icepaw reassured her, "Can we help you with anything; need to find the dirt place? Hungry?" he smirked again, causing Bookpaw to sigh in exasperation.

"No… I was just wondering what _Mavis_ was," she stated, while settling herself down between them.

"Mavis is the cat who created Fairy Tail… well all the clans, but she was our leader, she died a long time ago but she now takes all cat's that die, and they join her up in the sky to watch over us, each of the stars is a fallen warrior, a cat who died; as he should from old age, an apprentice or kit that passed too young, a fallen warrior or a cat taken by illness," Bookpaw explained to the golden cat, while gazing up at the sky.

"Oh… so Demonsoul and Beastsoul's youngest sister is dead?" Celestialpaw looked between the two cats, watching how they reacted, Bookpaw flinched and looked away, Icepaw had a similar reaction to Flamepaw, but he didn't up and leave them.

"Yeah, she died a while ago… she was out with her siblings on a patrol… they were attacked… they couldn't get to Featherpaw fast enough, she was killed," Icepaw muttered, and Celestialpaw noticed how his claws dug into the soft earth in frustration. "Flamepaw and her where really close, I think they were going to make a partnership, but… she died before he could say anything."

"Oh I'm sorry," she murmured, looking apologetically at the two she had caused pain.

"It's ok, you didn't know, and you needed to," Bookpaw told her, looking at the golden she-cat with warmth in her eyes, telling her they didn't blame her for bringing it up.

"Yeah, Bookpaw's right," Icepaw confirmed, calming the other cat's guilty mind. "Oh, hey Armourheart," he murmured, looking away, feeling afraid of the elder cat as she stood over the three apprentices.

"Icepaw," the red pelted cat nodded, and then turned to Celestialpaw, "Your apprentice training will begin tomorrow, you will be joining Icepaw, Bookpaw and Flamepaw with their mentors, your mentor will be assigned when the patrol returns later, for now, go get something from the fresh kill pile, all of you," she flicked her ear and padded away.

"Have you ever eaten a mouse before?" Icepaw turned to the golden cat that shook her head, "You'll love it, wait here and I'll grab us something," he hopped up lightly and trotted over to the pile that Flamepaw had pointed out to her earlier.

"I wonder who you'll be given," Bookpaw mused, a thoughtful expression cast over her face.

"What's a mentor?" Celestialpaw asked, shifting her position till she was laying on her side her eyes trained on Bookpaw.

"Oh, it's a warrior who trains an apprentice, they teach you to the boarders, train you to hunt and fight, the warrior code and little things like collecting moss for nests," the light blue cat explained, "My mentor's Speedfur, the ginger cat sitting over there with the black cat, Plantfur, Icepaw's mentor is Armourheart, poor thing, and Flamepaw's is Smallstar, it's an honour to be taught by the leader, but I think it's more so he can keep an eye on him."

As she finished her explanation, Icepaw plopped back down beside Celestialpaw, his jaws where clamped around three pieces of pray. He pushed a vole towards Bookpaw, a mouse to Celestialpaw and kept a squirrel for himself.

"Ah, you know me too well Icy," Bookpaw purred, and bit into the vole letting out a contented sound as she swallowed.

"Try your mouse," Icepaw commanded, watching as the golden cat leaned down and sniffed, before taking a small bite.

"It's good!" she stated, taking a bigger mouthful, a purr rumbling in her chest.

"Told you, once you've finished, take a mouse to Flamepaw, he hasn't eaten yet and he won't get one himself now his gone into sulky mode," Icepaw told her, his pink tongue flicking out to lick his lips.

Celestialpaw quickly devoured her prey and followed Icepaw's instructions, taking a mouse from the pile of dead creatures and pushing her way into the apprentices den. Flamepaw was curled up in his now flattened bed of moss, his tail covered his nose, but his eyes where open watching her movements carefully.

She dropped the mouse by his head and sat down in the nest beside his, the moss was cold and no sent lingered in the bedding, so she presumed this was meant to be hers.

"I got a mouse for you; I hope it's ok…" Celestialpaw murmured, she watched as Flamepaw rolled his shoulders, his pelt shimmering in the dim light with the movement, he yawned, black lips pulling back over needle sharp teeth and a pink tongue curling up.

"Thanks Cel, you didn't have to," he barely whispered the words, before gulping down the mouse given to him.

"Yes I did, it's all I can do, besides, Icepaw told me that you wouldn't get anything to eat yourself and that he'd have to get it for you anyway, I'm sorry for bringing up Featherpaw," Celestialpaw looked away from the pink furred tom, her whiskers twitching in embarrassment and guilt.

"Who told you about her?" he licked his lips and looked up at her, the tip of his tail flicking slightly.

"Icepaw and Bookpaw told me about her… I'm so sorry; they said you were going to ask her to be your partner," she explained carefully, keeping her head lowered but her eyes flickered up to his onyx irises.

"Oh ok then, it's ok, and yeah, she was my first real friend, but she's gone now, there's nothing I or anyone else can do about it," Flamepaw's walls shot up, his eyes hardening but when he looked back to her, they once again filled with warmth.

**~^x^~**

It wasn't long after that the patrol that everyone kept talking about, arrived home. A muscular dusky gold cat at the lead, he had dark jagged stripes running along his sides but what caught her attention was the thick scar over his right eye, in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Behind him, was; a smaller black tom with grey specks covering his pelt, a dark blue tom with a black band over his eyes, a dark brown pelted she-cat with striking purple eyes, a dark green she-cat with a long pelt along with several other cats.

"Lightningclaw, Bulletfire, Maskeye, Winesoul and Gunfur," Celestialpaw jumped at Flamepaw's low voice in her ear. "Something's wrong… Chainsoul isn't with them… he's the deputy, he should be at the head of the patrol…" his tone was tainted with worry.

"Bookpaw said that my mentor will be one of them, who do you think it'll be?" she whispered back, but kept her eyes on the troop of cats that trudged into the camp with heavy frowns on their expressions.

"My bet's on Lightningclaw or Maskeye, purely because Maskeye has never an apprentice and Lightningclaw hasn't had one for a little while yet and they're the next bet's for deputy as Chainsoul's getting on a bit and he hasn't come back… and you need to have had at least one apprentice before you can become deputy," he explained to her.

"Oh," Lucy looked towards the blue and golden cat's, wondering which of the two toms it would be, or if it would even be them, there were other cats on the patrol and all she had been told was that it was a cat on the patrol.

Smallstar, Armourheart and Crashtail padded up to Lightningclaw, matching expressions of worry and confusion on their faces.

"Lightningclaw, where is Chainsoul?" Smallstar demanded, looking up at the larger cat, and Celestialpaw was surprised to see similarities between them; both had the same dusky golden pelts even if Smallstar's was slowly greying, they both had jagged stripes running down their pelts and the way they stood, with hardened eyes and muscles stiff, both lent forwards slightly in their stances.

"We don't know," he replied, his voice was sharp and had a rough edge to it that made the fur along her spine bristle with unease.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" Smallstar snapped, his tail lashed and Armourheart shifted in aggravation beside him, eyeing the tom with confusion.

"I simply presume that he's dead, we found traces of blood but no body, and we can only guess that the Phantom's took him…" Lightningclaw looked away from his leader; regret shone behind the walls he put up.

"Then a new deputy must be named," he stated briskly, flicking his tail and turning away, Celestialpaw frowned, for a clan leader he didn't seem that upset one of his cats may well be dead.

"He may not show it, but Smallstar is very good at hiding his pain, he's been the leader for a very long time and he's had much practice, and I noticed you staring, Smallstar is Lightningclaw's grandfather," Flamepaw explained lowly into her ear.

"Who's this then?" a gruff voice spoke up, the two apprentices looked up to see the cat of their talk looming above them, his sharp stormy grey eyes narrowed as he stared at Celestialpaw.


	5. Chapter 3

**FAIRIES IN THE WILD**

**CHAPTER THREE**

"This is Celestialpaw, a new member," Flamepaw told the scowling Lightningclaw, staring up at him definitely.

"Eh, the old flea-bag finally got another cat to join did he?" the bigger cat, laughed harshly and nodded his head to the young she-cat, "Good luck then, you'll need it," he spoke before padding away to the fresh kill pile, she noticed he was limping, keeping his weight off his back left leg.

"Is he ok?" Celestialpaw noted to Flamepaw, who followed her gaze towards the older tom.

"He must have been hurt on the patrol; it's nothing he'll die from," he reassured her, nudging her lightly and getting to his paws, "Smallstar's up on the high rock, let's get a good spot," he padded towards the said rock and plopped down in front of it.

He called the cats out for a meeting and Celestialpaw heard a few mumbles of complaint about being called out twice in one day, they filled up the space and Celestialpaw looked over as Icepaw sat on her other side, and Bookpaw sat on Flamepaw's other side.

"Oi, Frosty pelt, who do you think'll be the next deputy?" Flamepaw whispered over her head, Icepaw turned to the pink furred tom, hissing lightly, causing Celestialpaw to duck down.

"Watch it Flame-butt, and Lightningclaw without a doubt," the other young tom replied darkly, turning to look over his shoulder at the said cat who was sitting more on the outside of the gathered cats, Souleyes, Evergreen and Scriptstorm sat with him, all of them had their pelts pressed against the large tom.

"Or Maskeye," Bookpaw spoke up, interjecting herself into the conversation/argument between the toms.

"He hasn't had an apprentice yet," Icepaw pointed out, the tip of his tail twitching as he eyed the blue tom sitting in the shadows on the outside of the group much like the way Lightningclaw was, only Maskeye was alone.

"Well, if he gets assigned Cel, then he has a good chance of becoming the next deputy," Flamepaw argued, glaring at Icepaw.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're getting your mentor now as well," Icepaw purred in amusement, and nodded in agreement, "You're right, it could well be him," Celestialpaw and Bookpaw exchanged a look of wide eyed awe, even though only having meet them today she could tell they _never_ agreed on anything.

"What about Crashtail or Armourheart?" Celestialpaw asked the two toms, they were quiet for a moment before they burst out laughing, they would have kept it up but a voice made them sit up and shut their mouths.

"Lightningclaw has informed me that Chainsoul was lost on this patrol," Smallstar stated, his voice strong and unwavering but Celestialpaw noted the pain swimming in his eyes.

Yowls rose up in the clearing, shouts of protest and pain mixed with just plain shock and horror, "Chainsoul can't be dead!"

"According to Mavis, the next deputy must be named before moon high," his dark green eyes scanned the clearing, ignoring the wails of cats, "Lightningclaw will be the next deputy," this time the voices that shouted out where of agreement, the previous grief over Chainsoul lost momentarily in the celebration.

"Told you," Icepaw muttered lowly, glaring at Flamepaw from the corner of his eye.

"Along with the naming of a new deputy, Celestialpaw needs to be assigned a mentor," Smallstar spoke after the noise died down, "Lightningclaw, as you have not had an apprentice for some months, it will be good to sharpen your skills," he waited for the golden tom to move to the young apprentice's side before continuing, "I hope you pass on what I taught you well," he watched as Lightningclaw ducked his head down to press his nose to Celestialpaw's before nodding his approval, "I will sit vigil tonight for Chainsoul, those who wish to join, may. Dismissed."

"Get some sleep, we'll be leaving early tomorrow morning," the gruff tom spoke lowly, flicking his ear and then padding away towards the three cats that never seem to be far from his side.

"Come on, it's late, we've all got be up at dawn tomorrow," Flamepaw nudged Celestialpaw, Bookpaw and Icepaw followed, their paws clumsy and maws gaping into yawns.

"Shouldn't we sit vigil with Smallstar?" Celestialpaw asked through a yawn.

"No," Flamepaw shook his head, "Only those closest will sit with him, but we can still do a vigil in our own way… just not staying awake all night."

They entered the den, where Lionpaw was sleeping soundly on a mossy bed, Icepaw and Bookpaw wondered to their own, Icepaw was next to Lionpaw and Bookpaw curled herself into the nest the other side of Celestialpaw's. The last two standing went to their own, Celestialpaw clawed at the moss, before curling up into a tight ball, it was her first night sleeping in a den and she was excited despite her exhaustion.

It wasn't too long later that Celestialpaw found herself stirring due to feeling something warm press against her, but her sleep addled mind couldn't focus enough to really care. Instead she just shut her bleary eyes, re-curled her tail over her nose and drift off to sleep.

**~^x^~**

"Wake up!" where the words that snapped Celestialpaw to attention, however as she tried to sit up, she found herself stuck. "Flamepaw, come on, I'm in charge of your training for the time being as Smallstar is busy, stop cuddling and get your arse moving," the weight shifted on top of her and then rolled away. She found herself feeling cold as the contact was removed and sitting up she saw Flamepaw yawning at the edge of _her_ nest.

"Did you sleep in my nest last night?" she cried, scrabbling backwards and tripping over Bookpaw's small form, causing the blue she-cat to squeak in shock.

"Yeah, and? I was cold," Flamepaw looked up with indignation and sniffed; licking his paw he drew it over his whiskers.

"That doesn't mean you can curl up next to me!" she hissed.

"Shut up! It's too early to listen to you two," Icepaw grumbled, shifting in his own moss and placing his paws over his ears.

"Oh no you don't! Armourheart is waiting outside, and you don't want to keep her waiting, do you?" Lightningclaw growled, prodding Icepaw's side roughly.

"No sir!" Icepaw cried, wasting no time in jumping to his paws and shooting past Lightningclaw, moss still clinging to his fur.

"Crashtail and Speedfur are also waiting," Lightningclaw mock yawned in impatience, causing Lionpaw to scoot out, and Bookpaw to wiggle from under Celestialpaw and follow the shaggy ginger furred tom. "Right, come on you two, why do mine have to be the slow ones?" he growled, flicking his tail and leaving the den, leaving Flamepaw and Celestialpaw to follow on his heels.

"Tsk, so grumpy, so early," Flamepaw muttered, suppressing a yawn, his eyes closing momentarily causing him to bump into the she-cat walking beside him.

"Careful!" Celestialpaw snapped, she had never been a morning cat, this was something she realised she'd have to work on if she was going to be a permanent part of Fairy Tail. Looking up she saw Icepaw sitting beside Armourheart, hurriedly running his pink tongue across his pelt, picking off bits of moss, Bookpaw and Lionpaw where quickly grooming each other, getting the hard to reach places.

"You have five minutes to wash before we leave, whether half of your bedding is still in your fur or not," Lightningclaw strode over to Crashtail and began talking to him, leaving Flamepaw and Celestialpaw to clean themselves.

"Hurry up and sit down, and get my back will ya," Flamepaw instructed, leaning over Celestialpaw's shoulder and dragging his tongue down her spine, making sure to pluck out bits of moss and dirt from her fur while she did the same.

"Ok, I think you're done," Celestialpaw pulled away and nodded in approval at his shining pelt, and then they were walking towards their mentors who were waiting for their apprentices to finish.

"Right, let's go," Armourheart spoke up, whisking away and disappearing through the entrance, Icepaw following behind.

"Celestialpaw, you go next, you haven't climb it yet so I'll help you, and that way if you do fall there's plenty of cats to catch you," Lightningclaw pushed his apprentice forward, into the tunnel, but before he could follow, Flamepaw slipped in front of him. "Oi, Flamepaw!" the tom snapped, attempting to snag the pink furred tom but was to slow, the younger tom had already disappeared.

"It's alright Cel! I won't let you fall!" he called excitedly, Celestialpaw gulped when she saw the boulders reaching up to the sky, they hadn't seemed this big last night, now it seemed too much. Icepaw poked his head over the top, an amused smirk on his face. `

"You can do it, it's easy," he yowled, waving his tail like a snake almost like he was gesturing for her to come up.

"Ok," she murmured more to herself, and leaped up the first rock, she scrambled up with little difficultly, her claws grasping into little dips in the rocks, at once her friend and mentor where beside her, encouraging her silently to keep going. Flamepaw was patient with her, giving her gentle pushes and nudges; Lightningclaw was less patient but stayed with her, pushing her from behind whenever she slipped.

At last she pulled herself over the top, sprawling out on the grass panting heavily; Flamepaw was bouncing beside her, with way to much energy after that climb, according to Celestialpaw. "Well done, even if you are a bit over weight," Crashtail noted, towering over Celestialpaw, approving in his eyes.

"Overweight?" Celestialpaw snorted in distaste, while Icepaw and Flamepaw sniggered, she turned and hissed at them, sending them scrambling back with squeaks of fright.

"Pathetic," Bookpaw sighed as she watched the two toms tremble, muttering something about how Cel was even scarier than Armourheart.

"I agree, Bookpaw," Armourheart nodded, also staring at the toms, "But it's rare that another cat can get them to behave," she had appreciation in her expression which only succeeded to make the blue she-cat roll her eyes.

"Right, we haven't got all day, Icepaw; you have a hunting assessment today," Lightningclaw snapped, gaining everyone's attention and causing Icepaw to mrrow in excitement, "Bookpaw and Lionpaw you are practicing your hunting today for your own assessments," both apprentices eyes lit up with excitement as they wiggled beside their mentors, "Celestialpaw, as it is your first real day in the clan, I will take you on a patrol around the territory so you can see it for yourself, Flamepaw you will join us."

"No fair! I want to go hunting," Flamepaw whined, his tail flicking with irritation.

"If Smallstar where here then I'm sure he would take you hunting, but he is busy so shut your mouth and hurry up," Lightningclaw hissed at the pink furred tom then began to pad away into the trees, Celestialpaw jumped to her paws and followed, leaving Flamepaw to trail behind. "Meet you all back in the camp later," he called over his shoulder to the other warriors.

**~^x^~**

Celestialpaw was absolutely exhausted by the time the three cats had finished their patrol, Lightningclaw had shown her the _whole_ territory, not taking no for an answer. Every time she stopped for a rest he would snap at her to keep going, even going as far as nipping her legs to keep her moving.

"Sorry if I was a but harsh, but it's good practice, and if you get in a habit of stopping whenever you just feel like it then it's not good, you need to be able to keep moving, to be able to keep up with other cats. I won't make you go that far again for a while but we will be doing lots of patrols to get you in shape," Lightningclaw had explained to her once they were back in camp, and she had simply nodded in understanding.

Following Flamepaw over to where the other three where sitting, she collapsed next to Bookpaw, sighing greatly and resting her head against Bookpaw's shoulder.

"My paw's feel like they're about to drop off," she grumbled causing a few purrs of amusement to be made.

"Well it's your fault for choosing Lightningclaw as a mentor," Icepaw told her, eyes filled with mirth.

"I didn't _choose_ him, he was assigned to me," she snapped back, her tail lashing, "But he's ok I guess, I'll get used to his training."

"You're not the only one, when Icepaw was given Armourheart the first thing she made him do was _run_ the territory with her, then she expected him to catch a mouse and _then_ she made him climb a tree all on his first day," Lionpaw laughed, nudging the scowling Icepaw with his shoulder.

"Armourheart does seem pretty harsh…" Celestialpaw murmured, glancing over to the red furred cat who was talking to Smokeheart and Purpleflare.

"Harsh!?" Lionpaw looked like she'd gone mad.

"She's a maniac!" Icepaw yelped.

"A _Monster_!" Flamepaw cried.

"You get the point," Bookpaw purred in amusement, "Now shush before the _manic monster_ hears you and has your pelts," she laughed, watching as the three toms ducked down clenching their maws shut.

"Good boys," the apprentices whirled around in shock to see Smallstar standing there, looking fairly amused by the apprentices chatter about one of his younger warriors.

"Hey gramps!" Flamepaw called, "Can we help you?" Celestialpaw was shocked at how the young tom spoke to his leader, even though they were the lowest ranked cats he still spoke to their highest ranking cat like they were best friends, obviously he had no respect.

"_You_ can't but Celestialpaw can," the elderly cat turned his green orbs to the apprentice, "Let's walk," he left no room for argument but the words where gentle, he flicked his tail for her to follow.

**~^x^~**

Once Celestialpaw was outside the camp for the second time that day, Smallstar pointedly walked into the trees, letting the apprentice walked beside him. She was silent, waiting for her leader to speak.

"Do you know anything about the supposed magical power's cats of the clans are meant to wield?" he asked, keeping his dark green eyes ahead, not looking down at the golden she-cat.

"I heard whispers from the other house cats that lived around me, but, it's all legends, right?" she replied. Smallstar stopped walking, turning to face the cat that was no smaller than he was, but held her gaze with such wise and powerful eyes.

"Legends? No. The whispers are true, child, you fought with Flamepaw on your first night in the forest, yes?" he waited for her to nod before continuing, "Did you ever feel a burning sensation during the tussle?"

Celestialpaw cast her mind back to the day she left home, to the battle with the tom, she remembered when he had her pinned down, the burning she felt when his paws her crushing against her back. "Yes," her eyes where wide, he couldn't possibly mean the stories where true…

"Flamepaw has the power to wield fire, hence his name, just as Icepaw can with ice, every cat within the clans holds ability deep within them, they just need to learn how to unlock it and control the magical energy. I brought you out here so you could find yours," he informed her.

"But-but I'm not even clan born, how can I be able to hold that power within me without knowing before?" she looked startled, taking a step away in shock, shaking her head slowly.

"I knew when I first saw you, your bond with Mavis, with the stars, it's so powerful till a point where I didn't believe it until Demonsoul foretold a prophecy, a prophecy about a cat, a cat so great they can wield stars, will guide us."

"But… how… what does that have to do with me? With my magic?" she was bewildered by the information placed upon her shoulders.

"Celestialpaw, celestial meaning the spirits of the stars, the great zodiacs, and the key around your neck only strengthened what I already knew. Celestialpaw, you have great strength, a power I didn't know was possible until now, that was only in legends, you can unlock the gates of the zodiacs, bring them to our world and become their master," he seemed greatly impressed as he spoke, pouring more impossible information into her brain.

"But, how?" she breathed, looking down at the key that hung around her neck, partially covered by her thick fur.

"Focus everything onto the key, imagine the zodiacs, bring one to your side as you dig deep within yourself, search for the magic, the box held locked within you," he told her, stepping away and circling her at a slight distance.

She did as she was told, closing her eyes and blocking everything else out. She imagined the box that was inside of her, slowly peeling back the lid to reveal the bright glow from inside, she imagined herself letting out the magic that was sealed inside, while thinking of the first zodiac that popped into her head, Cancer.

Smallstar watched with great interest, he had stopped circling, instead focusing on the small cat in front of him. He hadn't thought she would be able to pull it off first time, but she amazed him, slowly, a warm glow encased her small body, ruffling her fur and making the key rise up and point outwards.

Words begun to form on her lips, an incantation etched into time itself; "Open; Gate of the Giant Crab; Cancer," the words spilled out with ease, as if she had known them all her life.

Light burst from the key, erupting into the forest, and disappearing in the same second, there, beside Celestialpaw, stood a tall orange pelted cat, with dark, almost black eyes, long claws and thin legs.

Celestialpaw cracked open her eyes and looked around, for a moment she didn't notice the new cat standing beside her, but when it kicked in, she was jumping away in shock. "What? Where did you come from? Who are you?" her head swung around to Smallstar who was just as shocked as she was.

"Master, you have finally summoned me," he said in a polite, deep voice, dipping his head to her.

"Master? Wait… Cancer?" she questioned, finally seeming to come out of her state of shock, feeling drowsy and drained.

"It worked," Smallstar breathed, "Mavis… you were right," he spoke to himself, but the apprentice had caught the words uttered aloud.

"Yes, our Master has finally returned," Cancer spoke in the same tone, keeping his voice level, "The celestial spirits have finally been freed from our wait."


	6. Chapter 4

**FAIRIES IN THE WILD**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"No way! Cel, you're a celestial spirit holder?!" Flamepaw cried. Smallstar and Celestialpaw had returned to the camp after the summoning of Cancer, both still seeming in a state of shock, Smallstar had gone to his den with Crashtail and Lightningclaw following while Celestialpaw sat with the other apprentices.

"That's so cool; I only thought they existed in the stories told to kits, in legends, Celestialpaw, you could make warrior history with this magic!" Bookpaw cried out softly, not wanting the other cats around them to overhear.

"Ah! Y-you're a-a celestial holder?!" Lionpaw freaked, "I-I think I hear Demonsoul calling, don't want to keep her waiting!" the ginger tom had stuttered through an excuse and pelted off, panic stricken on his face as he raced towards the medicine cat's den.

"Um, ok then," Icepaw had shrugged, wrinkling his nose at Lionpaw's sudden leave.

"Did I do something to him?" Celestialpaw frowned, "He doesn't seem to like me very much," she murmured, dipping her head in embarrassment, every time her key came into the conversation between them, he always made an excuse to leave them and always seemed panicked.

"No it's ok Cel, that's just Lionpaw being Lionpaw," Flamepaw bumped his shoulder against the golden female, purring in amusement, "Ignore him."

"Yeah, he's a mouse-brained kitten," Icepaw shrugged half-heartedly.

"So tell us more," Bookpaw purred, kneading her paws into the hard ground, hardly able to keep still.

"Well, I summoned a spirit called Cancer in the forest with Smallstar, he told me that now that I was here, the spirits had been freed from their wait," she explained softly, glancing around at the other cats.

"What wait?" Icepaw asked; confusion evident in his dark blue eyes.

"I'm not sure," she replied with a small shrug, she had never gotten around to asking the spirit about that.

"So, can you summon anyone else, or just him?" Flamepaw asked, distracting her from the troubling thought with a light touch of his nose to her ear.

"Well, look," she straightened up, puffing out her chest so the three other apprentices could see the key around her neck, their eyes widened when they saw she was now sporting three new keys, "When we were talking, he said that there were three other spirits I had contracts with, Aquarius, Taurus and Virgo, he then… I don't know what he did, but the three keys where suddenly attached to the grass beside the first one," she told them, curling her tail over her paws and shifting so her shoulder brushed against Flamepaw's, comforted by his gesture.

"Aren't they heavy, all four of them there like that?" Icepaw tilted his head to the side, frowning at the new keys.

"Surprisingly, no, they're not, they feel as if they weigh nothing," she told them, hunching over them as if trying to shield them from the other's eye's.

"Aren't there something like twelve zodiacs?" Bookpaw asked shuffling closer so she could get a better look at the keys.

"All I know is that the others are contracted to other cats," she informed them, shying away from the other she-cat's inquisitive gaze.

"Wait, _other cat's_? As in, there are others with the same magic, how the hell did we not know about this, all this time I thought it was only a myth," Bookpaw trailed off, a distant look in her eyes.

"Yes, Cancer also told me that if I ever defeat these other cat's in battles, then I can take their key's and contract them myself," a soft sigh escaped her, "I wish I knew who had them," her eyes flickered up to the sky, the sun high above them, she had always wondered why she had felt such a strong bond with the stars, now she understood.

"Don't worry, we'll help you," she looked back at her three friends, all of them nodding and she felt happiness overwhelm her.

**~^3^~**

"Hey, Cel, wake up," a hiss sounded in Celestialpaw's ear, followed by a sharp jab to her side, had the golden apprentice lazily opening her eyes. She lifted her head with little effort and blinked at Flamepaw, who was sitting beside her in her nest, wide eyed and fidgeting in barely concealed excitement.

"What?" she snapped, supressing a yawn and glancing around, "The sun's not even up, why have you woken me? And why are you in my nest?"

"I heard some rumours going around the last gathering, three of Lamia Scale's clan mates have gone rogue and they don't know what to do about it, I think we should go check it out!" he just about managed to keep his voice down, but towards the end his tone had picked up. Icepaw cracked open an eye and glared at them.

"Keep it _down_, _some_ of us are _trying_ to _sleep_," he muttered with a lash of his tail.

"Sorry Icepaw," Celestialpaw whispered back, said cat grumbled under his breath but decided it wasn't worth an argument; he curled back up, flicking his tail so it curled back around his body, and his breathing was quick to even out until he was lightly snoring.

"So what do you say?" he asked, ear twitching in impatience.

"About _what_?" she snapped quietly, struggling to keep her eyes open for much longer, she yawned widely and attempted to settle back down despite Flamepaw hovering over her.

"What do you think? We should go check out those Lamia cats and see if there's anything we can do to help, imagine what Smallstar will do when he finds out how much we helped, he'll _have_ to make us warriors," his eyes glinted at the prospect of becoming a warrior.

"_What_?!" Celestialpaw's head shot up at his words, eyes flying open, and all traces of wariness vanishing. "Isn't that against the code? We could get kicked out of the clan," her fur bristled at the thought of having to leave the clan, despite only living with them for a just over two days, she loved it and all the cats here.

"No we wouldn't. Now come on, maybe you could find out more about your keys," he shrugged, getting to his paws. Cel's ear's pricked at the thought of more knowledge of her keys and slowly, with a heavy sigh, got to her paws and trailed after him, quietly weaving through her sleeping den mates.

Once outside; Flamepaw nudged her towards the outside of the camp, where the shadows would conceal them. "We have to be careful, Beastsoul is patrolling the camp entrance, there's a hole in the barrier behind the nursery, and we can get out there. Follow me and stay close," he instructed with a quiet hiss. The she-cat nodded and they skirted around the outside of the camp as quiet as mice, Celestialpaw stayed beside him, so close that their pelts brushed together.

Flamepaw wiggled through the hole first, making no nose as he did so and Celestialpaw followed after him, squeezing through the tight gap, if she had been any bigger she was pretty certain she would have gotten stuck.

When they were both free of the confinements of camp, the pink furred tom stretched out lazily, "Now what?" Cel muttered, turning her hardened brown eyes to him, annoyed that she was missing out on her sleep and she couldn't stop the gnawing worry that ate away at her insides.

"We head towards Lamia's territory, the cats that are causing the worry wouldn't have wandered far," he told her, tilting his head skywards and sniffing, "The wind's blowing across their territory towards us, so they shouldn't be able to scent us coming," he quickly explained, then, with a sharp flick of his tail, began to pad away into the forest. Celestialpaw sighed; realising there was no turning back now, and hurried to catch up with him.

**~^w^~**

The sun was just cresting over the horizon, sending its light skating across the land, as Smallstar emerged from his den, his dark green eyes flickered around the camp, watching as his cats slowly started to wake up and get ready for what today would bring. It was fairly quiet until Demonsoul came running into the clearing, panic flashing in her dark blue eyes and her white pelt was ruffled.

"Demonsoul, what's wrong?" Smallstar hurried over to medicine cat, sitting back briefly on his hunches to press a comforting paw to the beautiful cat's shoulder.

"It's Flamepaw and Celestialpaw," she gasped, "They're not in their nests and according to the other apprentices they were gone when they woke up, their nests where cold too," her words where hurried and panicked, her mind flashing back to the day they lost Featherpaw.

"Calm down Demonsoul," he instructed her, returning his paws to the ground and standing up, he swung his head around, eyes narrowing as he spotted Lightningclaw sending out this morning's patrol. "Lightningclaw," he called, imminently the named cat turned to see who had called him, before giving one last order and heading over to the leader and medicine cat.

"Yes?" he inquired, tilting his head so he was looking at both cats.

"Did you know that your apprentice wasn't in camp?" Smallstar questioned.

"No," he told them, a questioning look coming to his face as he turned to look over his shoulder at the apprentices den, "I thought she was still asleep."

"Well, she and Flamepaw have left the camp, I need you to go after them and find them," he instructed with a sharp flick of his tail.

"I can't, I have my own duties to attend to as the clan's deputy, if she wishes to go gallivanting around in the forest with that idiot, then by all means, let her," he grunted frowning down at his leader, "Or did you simply make me the deputy so that I can just neglect my duties?"

"Lightningclaw this is serious, they could be hurt, Flamepaw has no idea on how to control his magic properly yet and Celestialpaw is still new to hers, Mavis only knows what would happen if they came across an enemy out there, plus, you're probably the only cat here that can get that tom to come back willingly," Smallstar's anger was starting to show and it had Demonsoul calling out worriedly.

"Smallstar," a cross voice made him turn; Icepaw was padding towards them, his tail flicking in anger as he moved. "I'm sorry, I cannot let that comment go without saying something, I do believe _I_ am as able as he is, I can bring back the Flame Head."

"Icepaw," Smallstar sighed while shaking his head. "I'm sorry, this is dangerous-"

"It's sorted, he'll go find them and bring them back, your minds will be at peace and I can get on with my job, everyone wins," Lightningclaw informed them swiftly, leaving no room for argument, even from the leader.

"You have until dusk to bring them back, if you have not returned by then, then I will be forced to send out Armourheart to clean up after you pesky apprentices," Smallstar groaned, feeling far too old to be dealing with rebellious apprentices and grumpy arse warriors.

"I will not fail you."

**~^w^~**

"How long are we going to sit here for, I'm cold and my body's getting stiff," Celestialpaw muttered darkly, she was desperately missing her nest right then, as she crouched beside Flamepaw, they, or rather _he_, was scanning the grassy moor looking for the three rogue warriors of Lamia Scale. However, as Cel watched the sun peak up over the horizon, she realised that they would have most likely have had to have gotten up by then anyway.

She breathed out a sigh for what felt like the one hundredth time and shifted on the ground in hopes to make herself slightly more comfortable. "I can't see anything," Flamepaw muttered, more to himself than the female next to him, his narrowed, onyx eyes, roved across the grounds intently.

"Found you," a low growl admitted from behind them, Celestialpaw immediately tensed and sent a panicked look at Flamepaw who also had fear clouding in his eyes. A paw landed heavily onto Celestialpaw's shoulder and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other land on Flamepaw's, the paw was dark blue and it sent a shock wave of familiarity through her.

Icepaw.

Flamepaw's nose was instantly filled with the frosty scent of the other apprentice and anger spiralled inside of him, he whirled around, spitting out a low curse, and flung himself at the newly appeared tom. "Why did you follow us!?" he growled, pinning down the blue furred tom, his paw pressed down on Icepaw's chest, crushing the air from his lungs, as his tail lashed behind him.

"Don't do that you Hot Head," Icepaw growled, snapping his jaws shut around the end of the muffler-like object that was dangling down in front of his face, he then yanked his head to the side, successfully pulling down Flamepaw and unbalancing him, Icepaw then used the opening to harshly kick upwards into Flamepaw's stomach, winding the other tom.

"Stop!" Celestialpaw cried, jumping between them and pushing her paws against Flamepaw's shoulder, shoving him away from Icepaw before he could retaliate. "You mouse brains," she hissed, "We're not on Fairy Tail's territory anymore, it's dangerous to fight somewhere so open, were we could easily be spotted."

"She's right," Flamepaw grudgingly muttered, turning his head away from the other tom.

"Yes, and we're going back right now, your ridiculous 'mission' is over and we're going home," Icepaw growled, tensing his muscles, ready to fight either of them if they disagreed.

"No, we're going to finish what we started, now, you can either come with us, or go home and tell Fairy Tail that we're fine," Celestialpaw snapped, surprising both cats at her words, Flamepaw recovered first and jumped to his paws, eyes bright.

"Awesome!" he chirped.

"_No_, besides, if I don't get you back by dusk then _Armourheart's_ gonna get sent after you," Icepaw snorted, flicking his ear and tilting his head in the general direction of their camp. "Come on, before it gets to la-" his words where abruptly cut off as his expression became dazed. He staggered forwards, tittering on his paws, before finally falling over, falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

Celestialpaw squealed and hopped backwards, her eyes wide as she stared down at the fallen apprentice, then her eyes drifted upwards to see Flamepaw standing behind him, a massive stick clamped between his jaws, a triumphant look on his face and one fore paw raised off the ground.

"What did you do?!" she cried out, ducking her head down and pressing her nose against the unconscious tom's cheek; thank Mavis he was still breathing. Flamepaw dropped the stick and flicked his tail in dismissal.

"Oh please, he has a thick skull, he's only slightly dazed, now quickly help me move him before he wakes back up," Flamepaw snorted, padding forwards and grasping Icepaw's scuff between his teeth, he rolled his eyes as Celestialpaw continued to stand and stare, and hissed out between his teeth while flicking his tail sharply for her to do as he had said, while he pressed his side against Icepaw's.

Celestialpaw shook her head as if to clear her mind, and dipped her head down to butt his side so that he was leading against Flamepaw, then pressed her own side to the blue furred tom and together, the apprentices lifted him and began to walk, unsteadily, across Lamia Scale's territory, keeping themselves as low as they could while keeping the dead weight of Icepaw up.

"How are we going to find them?" Celestialpaw hissed darkly over the blue head of Icepaw, her irritation reaching its tipping point, this really was getting ridiculous.

"Follow their scent, duh," Flamepaw responded as if she was stupid, his ears where pricked, listening intently for any noise that may be made, and his onyx eyes where narrowed.

"Do you know their scent, better yet, do you even know who these cats are?" she snapped, lashing her tail as her voice dropped to a deadly calm tone, leaving Flamepaw's fur bristling.

"Well…-" Flamepaw appeared to be about to say more, but had been cut off as a shadowed figure loomed above them, seeming to have come out of no were. "Ah Mavis," he muttered.


	7. PLEASE READ - IMPORTANT UPDATE

**PLEASE READ**

It appears no one has seen the update at the top of my profile, so that's why I'm updating this to all my uncomplete stories.

For anyone who is wondering when my uncomplete stories will be updated: **They won't be**.

I no longer use FF . net I don't actually like this website (no offence to the creators) and I'm now over on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) if anyone wants to maybe come and talk to me. I'm always open for a chat if someone needs it. I don't have anything posted there though. (My username for AO3 is Moose_and_Squirrel_67)

**Anyway**, I have absolutely no interest in continuing any of my fics on here. I've lost interest and inspiration for all of them and I have no ideas for possible future fics. The only fandom's I'd be interested in writing for in the future would either be Free!, Haikyuu! or Supernatural. I lost interest in Fairy Tail a long time ago and no longer watch it.

So, I'm sorry if any of you actually read and enjoyed my fics and were waiting for me to update (though I'm not sure how anyone enjoyed any of them, as I know my writing and grammar was abysmal and my fics weren't really going anywhere. But hey! Each to their own, I guess).

**I guess this is my official statement of my retirement from FF . net We had a good run, but I'm leaving you for AO3 **(though I've been using it for a few months so I guess that would make it an affair eh?).


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